Brothers of Chaos
by ValorStrike
Summary: The life of a certain echidna is changed forever as what appeared to be a blue hedgehog crash lands on his island, with no memory of who he is. As the years pass and foes start to emerge from the wood works, the duo will meet allies and encounter several stumbling blocks in their path to emerge as the prodigal children of Chaos. SEGAverse.
1. Chapter 1

**Brothers of Chaos**

**Chapter 1**

It was quite often that the young child would read as the stars shone around the night sky.

For as long as the four year old echidna could remember(which, to be fair, wasn't saying much), he had decided to take up a mantle that could be seen as unheard of for someone of his age; he had become the Guardian of the mysterious Angel Island, a large floating landmass that was stationed high up around the planet Earth's stratosphere, as well as a large gem of incredible power, the Master Emerald, which was responsible for keeping the island afloat. This meant that, usually, days to him were calm and cloudy, with occasional breeze. Which was fine by him, to be quite honest; Knuckles _hated_ the Sun.

However, even for a Guardian, he was still too young to take up such a caliber of responsibility. He had to broaden his horizons on an extremely wide scale, having to depend on the multitude of books present on the island to educate and nurture him, completely free from supervision.

This was because, as far as he knew, he was the last of his kind.

He didn't know what became of his parents. If they were alive after he was born, he was probably too young to remember them clearly now. All he knew was that he was the only one of his species on this island; the only other specimens on the island besides him were the small woodland creatures that populated the area, which the echidna tended to daily. All he could gather were that his ancestors were part of a prestigious warrior clan, who had one day decided to gain more power and influence by gathering the Chaos Emeralds; what happened after that was unknown to him, as the contents of the book after that point were unreadable due to age so very long time ago.

Usually, someone who was in the same predicament as the boy would either become bored or, in extreme cases, insane, due to the sensation of loneliness gnawing at their psyche, perhaps due to being the only sentient being on the island. Indeed, Knuckles felt a somewhat great degree of isolation on a regular days, but he often quelled that negative sensation by reading books.

What one could consider quite boring and an incredible waste of time for many others within his age group, he found quite compelling. He liked how they presented so much knowledge that could be absorbed into the average mind, he liked how simple they were to comprehend, and he admired how interesting some of the contents of said book could be. They presented a seemingly limitless amount of figures that played a huge part in ancient history; the Chaos Emeralds, the Time Stones, the Chaos Rings...

In fact, it was tonight that he had decided to whisk a book straight from the Hidden Palace, to take a look at while lying down on the large altar before him.

This seemed to be centered around ancient prophecies predicted by the shamans of the ancient Echidna civilization. And, he had to admit, some of them were quite interesting to go through.

"I see that what was once a mere stem on the ground has grown into a large olive tree. For many years, this tree grew larger as the owners of said tree maintained its fertility, and its fruits. The tree represents peace, and the soil represents the foundations that established said peace. However, in the foreseeable future, that tree will become corrupted by a spark, that would eventually become a flame – a large, roaring flame. This flame symbolizes wrath, power and leadership. This flame will consume the olive tree, and will eventually burn everything it stand"s for to the ground, forever. Whoa... pretty powerful stuff, here..." He had decided to flip towards another page. "Hmm... here's but another one.

"I see... two beams of light, one blue, one red, coming together, and travelling through the speed of sound, in a black void. Before them is a large ball of darkness, which seems to overpower the individual beams. However, guided by Chaos, the two beams will eventually spiral together, before transforming into a single, powerful beam, with the brightness of a thousand suns. The new powered beam will plough through the darkness, destroying it for good. And all will be well."

At that, Knuckles had decided to set down his book, leaving it at the steps of the altar. Reading was quite an... _interesting_ venture, but he still had a job to do.

A short distance up the steps later, the echidna eventually laid his eyes upon what he considered to be the crown jewel of not just the altar but the entire island itself – the Master Emerald. He laid his hand upon the gem absent-mindedly – something that he would frown upon if anyone else were to do so – and immediately it seemed to glow. His sixth sense, able to predict traces of Chaos Energy, was almost overwhelmed by what he deemed to be infinite power; how else would such a glorious item exist in this world. Recollecting his thoughts, he turned away from the Emerald, staying in place with his arms crossed.

"Such power... how is it that _I_, a young child would be the one to protect such a precious artifact before me? To be honest... I don't really know how. All I know is that I will honor those that have came before me, by guarding this island till death, even if I have to spend the rest of my life in solitude."

Knuckles then laid down on the edge of the circle surrounding the Emeralds and started to stare at the sky. It was a cloudless night, thankfully; all the constellations in the night sky were present. Since he was so high up the planet's surface, the stars appeared bigger towards his point of view than at ground level. He figured he could do this until sleep overcame him. It wasn't long before he could see a blue streak of light appear; a shooting star! He looked up at what was his first encounter with one with amazement as flew at a steady pace, soon to disappear...

Only to realize that that wasn't what it was trying to do at all; in fact, it looked like it was heading...

Directly...

_On top..._

**Of his...**

_**Island.**_

"Oh, crap!" As soon as that line of thought entered his mind, the Echidna immediately jumped up with a start, as the star appeared ever closer. Jumping towards the Emerald's home, his body entered into defense mode, hoping to use his immense strength to over power the object. And even if he failed... he would be content knowing he died protecting his folly.

The good news was, to Knuckles' relief, the star wasn't aiming at his Emerald. The bad news, however, was that it still landed on the island, with a resounding BOOM.

"What the hell was that?! Whatever it is is not gonna stay here for long—I'll make sure of that. Hmm... he seemed to have landed towards the Ice Caps."

And with that, he dashed towards the ground zero of the crash site.

* * *

><p>"Ugh... darn it... now... I remember why I <em>never<em> come up here... so _cold_...", the echidna moaned as he found himself using his spiked fists to finish climbing up a kilometer high mountain in the frozen tundras of the Ice Caps. He really hoped that whatever awaited him was worth such an arduous effort. He then turned towards what he predicted would be the site of the explosion.

With all of the knowledge implanted into his brain, Knuckles had thought he had seen or heard of everything in life, and to not be surprised at the slightest abnormality. But all of that went through the window when he had seen what – or _who_, for that matter – had landed on his turf. It appeared to be a turquoise hedgehog, somewhere around his age, and he seemed to be unconscious. Cuts and bruises appeared all over his body, and his fur seemed to be extremely pale, his body no doubt starting to freeze over from the intense cold .

"Whoever this guy is, he seems to be in need of serious medical attention. He'll die if left untreated.

"I'm slightly against the idea of another person on this holy ground, but at the same time, I can't just leave him to succumb to his injuries... Hmm... It may be against my better judgement, but I'll have to take him to the Master Emerald. If my memory serves me well, the Emerald has the ability to heal those who are inhibitors of Chaos Energy. If nothing else, _I'm_ living proof of that. But... will it work on him, I wonder? Wait, why am I just standing here? I have to take him to the altar, _quick!_"

Knuckles then picked up the child, causing him to elicit a moan. "Man, what is this guy_ made_ of?! No matter, at least I know he's still alive..." He then jumped off from the high mountains, only for his trademark dreadlocks to catch the wind blowing in his face, enabling him to glide from the icy landscape back to the Emerald's altar, the added weight making it harder for him to focus on his location. Eventually though, he managed to make it back. He still needed to perfect that technique.

The Echidna then gently laid the blue hedgehog towards the Master Emerald. To his surprise, upon contact with it, the Emerald seemed to not glow, but shine brightly; wisps of energy began reaching the young one, his body becoming warm within seconds, which slightly deepened his fur somewhat to a less sickly color.

"Now this, this is a shock... This intruder indeed seems to be able to manipulate Chaos Energy somewhat. But how? I am a Guardian, a descendant of the keepers of this power; it is obvious that I can use this power as well as I can. But... who is he? Wait a minute... his color is blue... and he seems to be able to use Chaos Energy... could this be a blessing in disguise? Could he be...?"

By this point, the wounds present on the hedgehog's body had been completely healed, and seconds after, his eyes opening in an instant, a confused expression appearing on his face. "Who... who are you? Where am I? What'is thin' tha's behind me?", he queried as he got up, dusting himself.

Knuckles' first expression upon seeing the blue hedgehog awake was shock – but not of the negative kind. "How... _dare_ you! The Master Emerald is not merely a "**thing**"! Apologize at once before I turn you into spiny mincemeat!"

The hedgehog quickly raised his hands, and his ears perked up. He was quickly starting to worry - his spiked fists meant he could easily take that threat and run with it if he wanted to. "Whoa, whoa, buddy! Y'don't need t'go tha' far. I din' know, OK?"

The echidna's expression softened somewhat, but not by much – now that he was awake, he was going to answer a few questions – whether he liked it or not. "Hmph. Duly noted. Let's not beat around the bush here. This here is my turf. My home. I found you in an arctic wasteland not too far from here. After dragging you here – by the way, you weigh a _ton_ – I took you to the Master Emerald, and you were healed, and here you are.

The hedgehog's eyes widened in shock. "Whoa... so I guess this thin', I mean, _tha' Master Emerald_", he corrected as he saw Knuckles' scowl, "saved my life, huh?"

"That is correct. Now that that is out of the way, time for my first question. How did you find your way onto this island?"

"Um... le's see. Uh... tha's da thin'... I can' really remember..."

For a second, Knuckles' eyes widened, only to bring them down again before the hedgehog could notice. "Nothing at all?"

"Nope. All I can remember up t'now wus me flyin'... Th' skie wus so _cold..._"

"Flying? So that was when you plummeted onto the island..."

"...Yeah, y'coul' say tha', I guess..."

And with that, Knuckles felt the need to face palm. Here he was, dealing with a guy who, judging by his language, seemed to be quite uneducated, and was also an amnesiac. What a perfect night this was building up to! No, no... more questions.

"Well, is there anything you can remember?"

"Nah. Jus' whatah tol' ya, an' my name."

"Alright... What is your name?"

"...Sonic. Sonic tha' Hedgehog."

"Alright, uh... Sonic, is it? One more question. Are you familiar with the concept of... Chaos Energy?"

The hedgehog's ears flat lined, as his expression appeared more confused. "Ah... Chaos wha? Wha's that? That sounds... cool!"

This time, the echidna could not stop the groan from erupting in his mouth. His mind was truly at a loop; a blue hedgehog had decided to land on his island, who seemed to be able to use Chaos Energy, but suffered from amnesia and appeared to know nothing about Chaos Energy? This specimen was truly one in a million. Sonic appeared sheepish.

"Alright, alright, one last, final question. Why, exactly, are you called Sonic?"

For what seemed to be the first time for the entire night, Sonic's mouth curled into a smile. "Oh, _tha'_ I remember. Check this out!"

And at that, Sonic seemed to just... _vanish,_ into a blue streak, bouncing and darting around the altar and around the green grasslands that bordered it. Knuckles' eyes remained in what seemed to be an eternal mixture of shock and wonder. **No one** could possibly go that fast!

After what seemed to be an eternity, the blue hedgehog skidded to a halt right next to him, the friction causing smoke to appear on the altar. He still carried that... cocky, smirk on his face.

"Impressed...?"

The echidna physically clamped his mouth closed, his mind uncharacteristically racing in thought. There was only coherent line of thought he could whisper out loud.

"Well, he'll make an... _interesting_ companion. I have a feeling that he'll stay here for quite a while, so I'll have to make... the most of it, I suppose.

"Hopefully, he won't drive me insane in the process..."

* * *

><p><em>And that is the first chapter of <em>Brothers of Chaos!_ This is my first Sonic related fanfic on this site, so any constructive critisism you have can really be appreciated. I'll try and upload the next chapter soon. Thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Brothers of Chaos**

**Chapter 2**

A year had passed since the fateful encounter with the hedgehog had occurred.

To this day, he didn't know exactly what in his mind had managed to keep his uninvited guest on Angel Island as long as he did. One one side, as the echidna begrudgingly admitted to himself, having an actual sentient companion available for him to talk to occasionally could only be a positive thing, perfect to keep that deep seated sense of loneliness quelled for the time being. On the other hand though, Sonic's personality... didn't exactly have the attributes necessary for companionship.

Knuckles had to give credit to the hedgehog when it was due, though. In the year that passed since he landed on the island, he had managed to rid himself of his somewhat juvenile way of speaking for the most part – which, to be honest, was quite fine by him. However, the echidna had quickly started to notice a recurring theme in his mannerisms – Sonic_ loved_ to keep moving.

Physically, this was quite obvious. It was what was on the _mental_ scale of things that the echidna pondered on more often.

Sonic and Knuckles were basically polar opposites. Sonic loved to spend his time zooming across the island's main attractions; whether it be swinging across the jungle vines and zooming across the peculiarly shaped loop-de-loops of the green-lands, or examining the submerged ruins of the ancient Hydrocity, or going on the rides of the Carnival at night-time(How the hell a _carnival _of all things ended up emerging on Angel Island, Knuckles did not care to want to know), Sonic was always moving. Also, unlike Knuckles, he didn't seem to care much about education; that didn't stop him from forcing the hedgehog to sit down and dedicate a few hours a day to reading up on what the Hidden Palace had to offer, using his immense strength as a threat; he was_** not**_ going to spend his valuable time talking to an uneducated hick.

Knuckles, meanwhile, was practically a stone wall, with both the personality and the physical strength to match. Unlike Sonic, he rarely, visited the sections of the island outside the altar, as well as the Hidden Palace. He didn't have the time to; he couldn't afford to wander off while the Emerald was in plain sight. Although the echidna would never say this to anyone, not even himself, he secretly envied Sonic's outlook on life, no cares in the world, while he was doomed to a potentially lifetime commitment.

That's not to say that the hedgehog's presence did not annoy him however. While most of the time Sonic kept well out of Knuckles' way due to being occupied with what the island had to offer, whenever he was near him, he would bother him to no possible end.

This was one of those days.

"Aw, c'mon, Knuxie! Let's go do something together, you and me!"

"I've told you a thousand times already, hedgehog. The name is not "Knuxie". It's Knuckles. And I've also told you this a thousand times already – no, I don't want to go anywhere with you."

Sonic's face turned into a pout, which made Knuckles' frown even deeper; He hated that face he made. It made him look so pathetic that he wanted nothing more than to to punch him in the face with his spiked gloves. The thought made him inwardly smirk.

"But I'm booooorreed! I've been through the Carnival Night place like, a million times now! I wanna play with you! You're big and strong!"

Knuckles then turned away from Sonic, beginning to walk back towards the altar. "Tough. Go play with the woodland creatures; they could use some entertainment."

"But all they do with their time is eat, poop and sleep! And they smell, too! I don't wanna play with them!"

Knuckles let out a deep sigh. "Then read. Reading invigorates the mind and stabilises it to its full potential. Take me for example."

"I've already read the books you told me to read!"

"Like I said before; tough. Now if you excuse me, I have an Emerald to guard." He was almost to the top of the stairs...

Sonic's face then twisted into an uncharacteristic scowl. Master Emerald this, Guardian of Angel Island that; that was all he ever cared about! All he wanted to do was to go off on adventure with Knuxie, and he just turned him away like that? What was wrong with this guy, anyway?

"Yeah well, who needs ya? I don't wanna keep you away from your girlfriend!"

Knuckles' eyes widened, before turning back to meet the hedgehog's eyes. "What... did you say?"

"Yeah, you heard me! If that stupid Emerald is so important to you, then why don't you marry it?"

The echidna's shock started to form to bubbling anger, as veins started to appear on his forehead and a guttural growl emerged from his maw.

_No, no... Remember your teachings; do not let his taunts get the best of you – a Guardian should never let loose of any emotional restraints. Just wait for him to clam it-_

"You Guardians must have been dumber than bricks if you think guarding a stone for the rest of your lives is worth a piece of crud!"

That did it.

"RAAAAUUUGGGGHHHHH!" Without warning, Knuckles blasted off the steps at the altar, moving with such spontaneity that even Sonic was thrown off a loop for a moment, only to recollect his bearings just in time to back flip out of the way to avoid a diving punch to the ground, leaving a small crater.

What the hedgehog didn't know was that what awaited him from behind was a large, sloped hill. After hitting his head on the ground, causing him to let out a moan, his body started to roll at an ever increasing frequency, until it started to take the form of a blue ball to the naked eye. After a few seconds, the blue ball ended up entering what looked like a stone ramp. Sonic shot up into the sky, and, through both his form and his sheer speed, managed to demolish a stone wall, which instantly caused him to lose his rolling form, causing him to ungracefully face plant into the ground.

Sonic dizzily got up, and inspected the bruises that were present on his body as the result of that exchange, as well as the large bump that had emerged on his head. Before he could do much else, however, he sidestepped with a start once he saw that Knuckles had somehow managed to catch up to him.

It was at this point that Sonic realised that maybe he may have upset Knuckles a bit too much. 'A bit' was maybe a bit of an under exaggeration; he'd never seen the echidna in such a fit of rage before. If he managed to catch up to him, he'd be in for quite a world of hurt... All he wanted to do was to play with him!

"Knuckles, Knuckles! Calm down, buddy! Sorry if I ticked you off, or whatever; just don't wail on me, OK?!"

Alas, at this point, Knuckles was just too far gone to be reasoned with so easily. With another roar of anger, he started using his fists to bring down the various coconut trees that littered the main grasslands of the Island.

Sonic gulped, sensing a shadow starting to emerge from behind him, and then out of pure instinct, jumped out of the way, managing to avoid being squashed into a pulp by the giant trees.

Seeing that Knuckles wasn't going to calm down, the sweating hedgehog started to frantically come up for ideas. If he didn't think up a plan quick, he was a goner! So he continued to think, until...

An imaginary light bulb appeared on Sonic's head. "That's it!" His trademark smile appeared on his face as he started to dash ahead of Knuckles, intending to leave the grasslands and head up to the highest part of the Island; the Master Emerald. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Knuckles was devoted to the thing. So, what better way to get him to calm down that to threaten him using it? It was totally foolproof! Sonic quickly turned behind him to see that Knuckles wasn't too far behind. Not bad...

It wasn't long before Sonic managed to get up the stairs to the altar, and jumped on top of the Master Emerald. It was simply the matter of waiting for Knuckles to take the bait. So sure of himself that his quickly formulated plan was going to work, that he didn't notice his body glowing a light shade of blue due to the Emerald's power.

Sonic's ears then perked up as they sensed the echidna's presence. His body quickly formed a battle-ready stance, his cocky smirk still present on his face.

"There you are, little red guy! If you don't calm down now, I'm gonna break your precious... precious..."

Whatever words had formed in his mind had faded as he saw Knuckles jump up, his body covered in a red light, and with his eyes lacking pupils. And worst of all... he had a fist formed for a hook.

Sonic never saw Knuckles' attack coming. Before he knew it, the spiked fist made its way into the blue hedgehog's face; his body was immediately launched several feet into the air, before making his way back on the ground, not too far away from the bottom steps of the Emerald altar.

Immediately after, Knuckles had managed to regain his composure, his eyes quickly regaining their pupils and the veins disappearing from his head. He still maintained a scowl, but it was directed more towards himself than towards Sonic.

_Ugh, you moron! What did I tell you?! Don't let his taunts get to you! You're a _Guardian_, for Pete's sake. Now you've let your anger get the best of you and the hedgehog is probably critically injured a best. Damn it all! What would my forefathers say to me right now? Oh, they'd probably say a mouthful of cra-_

"Dude! What. WAS. THAT?!"

Knuckles instantly turned around to see Sonic behind him. To his utter amazement, he appeared mostly fine from that exchange, besides a few scrapes. But it didn't make any sense. That punch just have at least beaten him down, maybe even killed him! There was just no way... unless... was this the Master Emerald's doing? He thought back to that book he read around a year ago, as well as when Sonic was unusually healed by the Master Emerald when he was critically injured.

"Two beams of light, one blue and one red, guided by Chaos...", he murmured to himself.

Sonic's head lightly cocked to the side. "Huh? Something on your mind, Knux?"

"Actually, hedgehog, there is? By all intents and purposes, that punch should have at least left you broken and bloody. The fact that you aren't... maybe its the Chaos Energy coming into effect... Hmm..."

After a few seconds of thinking, Knuckles instantly came into a conclusion. "Ah, I've got it. Sonic. How would you like me to teach you the ways of martial arts?"

Sonic's face instantly shot up. "Really? You think you can?"

The echidna nodded. "Positive. Think of it; it will most likely prove beneficial for the both of us. You will be able to defend yourself from any potential harm from intruders, and I myself will be able to improve my finesse, and to use your speed to my personal advantage – lord knows I need to be able to prepare against someone with speed of your calibre." He added that last bit of subtle buttkissing just for good measure.

Just as expected, the hedgehog fell for the bait, his eyes closing and that confounded smile appearing on his lips in a transparent showing of modesty. "Well... that _is_ true... All right! I'll do it! Put 'er there, pal!" His hand quickly shot up.

The echidna's face signalled confusion at first, only to finally figure out what Sonic was doing; his hand met Sonic's, and in a single gesture, an alliance was born.

Of course, Knuckles had his own reason for training them both. For one, the displays of power presented by them both a few moments ago was still fresh in his mind. Was it connected to that story in the book in anyway? Was he, the last echidna in existence, really destined for such a role?

He just had to find out.

* * *

><p><em>Second chapter was up sooner than I thought it would be; that could only be a plus, I guess xP. Here's hoping I can maintain this schedule for my future chapters.<em>

_Also, any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi, so this is chapter 3 of Brothers of Chaos._

_First, let me start off my saying that the reason why I put up an authors note here was because this chapter is _VERY_ long, probably longer than my other two chapters put together, but who's counting? There was a lot that needed to be said here, and I'm not sure if any future chapters are going to be kept at this length. But who cares about that, huh? New chapter ahoy!_

* * *

><p><strong>Brothers of Chaos<strong>

**Chapter 3**

A further 6 years had passed since Sonic and Knuckles made that agreement.

The echidna would be hard-pressed to admit it, but the both of them had improved dramatically since that day. He could now catch up with the hedgehog while the latter was running at a leisurely pace – not even close to reaching his top speed, but still pretty damn fast - and both his senses and his upper body strength were also enhanced. Knuckles had considered having a training partner as a blessing in disguise; a Guardian had to be in top physical condition as well as mental, after all, and Knuckles couldn't _afford_ to be rusty.

Similar results abounded for Sonic, as well. Early on in their routine, the hedgehog had decided to take a non-conventional approach to fighting, presumably being somewhat underwhelmed by the brawler-esque style that the echidna utilized. He stopped tuning his body somewhat and started using his own speed as a weapon; at first, he simply opted for using his sound-breaking top speed to plow through any opposition; that line of thinking had stopped when he had managed to literally imprint himself into a stone wall. After that, he had taken a page from his first fight with the echidna, and started using his ball form for combat instead. It required a significant amount of finesse to perfect, but with time, the process became almost second nature.

In fact, this was what the hedgehog was utilizing right at this moment.

Deep inside the trenches of the hidden Lava Reefs, Knuckles was sweating; not just from the rampant convention due to the lava being at such a close proximity, but also from the added stress with what was literally added on his shoulders. Bruises from their match spread all over his body, but the echidna was so focused on his goal, it was as if they didn't exist. He was doing an

admirable job at preventing Sonic from inflicting any more harm on him, but he knew that he couldn't keep this up for much longer. And while he couldn't see his expression due to his intense momentum, the hedgehog was also starting to tire.

Eventually, a quick idea formed in Knuckles' mind. He may not have been able to cancel out the hedgehog's momentum by himself, but... what if he were to use it to his advantage?

He didn't need to reconsider twice. He had it all planned out. He would simply let go of his defense, get caught by the hedgehog, and jump off safely while while his surprised opponent would only realis too late that he had been tricked. The only problem was... he, once again, failed to account Sonic's speed.

As soon as he let go, he was caught in the outer shell of the hedgehog's ball, causing it to enlarge somewhat. The ball sped towards the lava ridden mountains, eventually destroying a weak section of rock that somehow led to a hidden tunnel. After a few seconds, the ball dispersed, leaving two figures splitting up and falling on the crystal floor.

Knuckles was the first to get up, dusting himself off from any dust that had gotten onto his body. "Ugh... note to self - _never_ try anything like that again; could'a fallen into the lava for all I knew... Speaking of which, how did we get to the Hidden Palace?"

After all of his time spent on the Island, the echidna had no idea about the secret passage that led to here. Nevertheless, he assumed, a landmass so big and mysterious as this must have quite the fair share of secrets. He supposed it would be more convenient to enter here; before, the only way to come inside was to find a transporter; a large amount were littered around the Island, most of them rendered dormant due to age.

It was then that Sonic also got up, panting, with his spines frizzled all over his body. After using his fingers to comb them back to their original position, he let out a grin. "Heh... I got you, didn't I?".

Knuckles didn't answer his question. The hedgehog simply shrugged to himself. He tried another tactic.

"Hey... what is all this?"

"Hmm?" Knuckles looked up, and immediately recognized where they were exactly were.

"Oh... this, Sonic, is a shrine; or more importantly, the original shrine where the Master Emerald was placed, before the Island was formed."

Sonic continued to stare. "Oh... but wait; why'd they stop using this place anyway. Wouldn't keeping it in a secret cavern make more sense than to leave it out in the open?"

All Knuckles could do was shrug. Hell if he knew.

"And look – I see... 1, 2, 3, 4... 7 small altars around the large one. What's that all about?"

That Knuckles knew. These objects had occurred in the various books that he had spent his time here reading.

"I'm almost glad you asked. What used to be stationed here were the seven Chaos Emeralds."

Sonic looked at Knuckles in confusion. "Chaos Emeralds, huh? I've read around on those things a bit. Weren't they lost or something?"

Without missing a beat, Knuckles went on immediately after Sonic finished talking. "Yes, these Emeralds have been lost for many years; seven of them existed, houses to incredible power to those who wielded them. The Master Emerald existed to stabalise their power. However, when the landmass now known as Angel Island was formed, all seven of them were dispersed into corners of the Earth. The Master remained; it is responsible for keeping the Island afloat – without it, it would plunge into the sea."

Sonic then let out a whistle. "Shame... Wait, why didn't you guys try to look for them? Surely you'd be able to find them if

you tried.

Knuckles simply shook his head. "We couldn't... or rather, we wouldn't. We echidnas were an isolated species by nature; we often kept to ourselves and kept out of other worldly affairs. I guess they just didn't want to go through all of the extra effort. Why, I don't know..." The echidna decided to change topics.

"I have to admit, you almost had me on the ropes there, blue one. Your technique, while not perfect, is becoming more efficient rapidly with time. Keep at it."

Sonic blinked; he wasn't used to getting such blatant praise from such a freaking loner as Knuckles. Then again, he had noticed that his overall demeanor had changed over the years. He seemed more... _welcoming_, for some reason.

"Hey man, s'what I do", the hedgehog replied as he rubbed his spines with his hands. "You aren't so bad yourself. Dare I say you're actually giving me a challenge." The hedgehog scoffed to himself. "_Unthinkable_."

Normally, Knuckles would have gone on his tangents about either being treated with respect or threatening the hedgehog with bodily harm, but somehow he recognized his tone of voice as merely jest. But somehow, he could sense something... _underlying _about his words, but he couldn't quite put his glove on it. All he did was close his eyes and hum in response.

"Yo. You OK, man?"

_**Damn**_, he hated how this hedgehog could talk at times - and after all he had taught him, as well!

"I'm... fine. I just wish to be left alone for a few minutes; I need to think about certain matters. There's a transporter just close by here. Understand?"

Sonic took the hint, and started walking away. Good. "...Sure, man. I'll be on my way then"

Knuckles didn't even turn. "You do that."

And with that, the hedgehog walked off, leaving the echidna with no one but his thoughts. While he was proud of himself for improving both himself and Sonic for the better, something about Sonic's cocky response had started to irritate him. Normally, Knuckles would have dismissed it as mere overconfidence, and left it as nothing but a mere afterthought, but then he recalled the gradual training the two had been taking part in over time; the hedgehog was now almost an equal to himself except for upper body strength and intelligence – Knuckles lightly smiled at that tidbit.

"Hmm... I can appreciate where we stand now... but I can't let the joker surpass me. I'm a Guardian; Guardians are meant to be as impenetrable as the Emerald they guard. I need to step up my game."

Knuckles then locked his gaze at the former altar. "Still, I can't let overconfidence get the best of me. That prophecy is still gnawing at my mind; something tells me we both require each other to improve, for whatever reason."

It was then that the echidna recalled a certain phrase that he had read quite some time ago. It was... "Companionship is better than commitment? Pfft, nonsense."

* * *

><p>By the time the hedgehog had managed to locate the teleporter and bring himself back to the grasslands, it was twilight.<p>

Yikes, how long were they going at it? Whatever, it didn't really matter anyway. All he cared about was the fact that he almost made Knuckles wet his non-existent pants. He gave Knuckles the Impenetrable Echidna a run for his money because of his awesome moves! Sonic was ecstatic – he had never pushed the echidna so hard before. Not that he came out without a scratch himself; he had a noticeable limp on him. He didn't worry, since he could sense it was going to be healed anyway, but MAN, that guy's punches could kill!

All we really wanted to do was to find a nice spot to sleep – anything to get rid of the numbing pain after all. In his down time, the hedgehog liked to think. Like... how did he get here? Why couldn't he remember anything before he got here? Was he ever going to get off this Island? The longer he stayed, the more that last possibility seemed unlikely. But still, it would be nice to see what presented itself out there, even if only for a while.

However, his mind had somehow sensed the presence of the Master Emerald, which was normal for him. But this sensation was different, almost as if it was... urging him to go to it. At first, Sonic was wary, until he realized that Knuckles was still in the Hidden Palace. Ergo, he wasn't around to kick his ass for what he was about to do.

So, going as fast as his body could take him – which wasn't as fast as he had wanted – he had managed to find his way towards the Emerald's altar. Even after all this time, the Emerald's power still mesmerized him just as much as the first time he was subject to it. But something seemed different. He could feel a small sense of anger. But this wasn't any sort of anger. What

really confused the hedgehog was the type of hate it was. It seemed... deep rooted, long serving, like the Emerald could strike at any moment. What anger could possibly be in a simple gem?

The Emerald then seemed to shoot a shock of energy at the hedgehog, causing him to jump back with a yowl. "The hell? What's going on?", he shouted to no one in particular. He didn't even seem to care that his earlier limp had disappeared, his pain being healed by the Emerald's power.

Before he knew it, his vision started to turn white. Sonic could only look around in shock as it was gradually drowned by a sea of blankness. Just as he was about to shout to Knuckles to tell him what was happening, the world around him was completely gone, as well as the platform he was standing on. As a result, he was basically flying around in white space.

After a few seconds, his view started to quickly return to him. The first thing he could see was an endless sea of grass... but wait. Why was he airborne?

"Ah, crap...", was all he could say before he face planted hard into the ground. Ugh, he hated these moments. Ridiculous, all of them! How he wished to be free of them!

All the hedgehog could do was grumble before he got himself up, shaking any dirt that was on his body. After he was done, he then looked around. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't at the Emerald's altar. The Master Emerald was no where to be found, and neither was Knuckles. All he could see was grass, with a large waterfall nearby and a set of mountains in the near horizon. All he wanted to do was touch the damn Emerald! How'd this happen?

_Where... where am I? How did I get here? This doesn't feel... like Angel Island. Is this what the world really looks like? It looks... underwhelming. Boring, even. Just grass and soil. Though to be fair, this place looks like its perfect for running. I'm sure I can just find my way home eventually. I just need to keep searching for a way. Speaking of which..._

The hedgehog then blasted off. Where, he had no clue.

After a few minutes of darting around the landscape, Sonic also realized another error he made; this place wasn't as barren as he thought it was. He had noticed that what at first looked like a giant mountain had morphed into a pyramid of sorts.

_Eh, I suppose if there's another city here, I might as well stay there, at least until I can find my way back home. Hopefully whoever's there'll be pretty welcoming – otherwise..._

And with that, the hedgehog stayed silent, and propelled himself to his top speed, enabling him to break the sound barrier. Sonic always loved the sensation that running at the speed of sound gave to him; it made him feel weightless, undeterred by neither the weight of gravity or the resistance of the atmosphere around him, mixing together to give the hedgehog quite an unexplainable but pleasant experience. All he could see in his vision were blurs.

_There!_ Despite running at such a fast speed, Sonic could somehow sense when and how to stop; he simply skidded along the ground, the friction being so high that the grass was caught in fire. He saw where he was – a large, somewhat ominous gate. He quirked an eyebrow at how the gate seemed to be unguarded; this was gonna be as easy as pie!... Whatever that was.

The hedgehog then sauntered in, but as soon as he did, he regretted his action. Seriously, he had a knack for doing that.

* * *

><p>As soon as he entered into the unknown territory, a loud battle cry was heard. Before he had the time to think, a large figure had managed to plow into Sonic, with others following. The hedgehog's pupils somewhat shrank when he saw that a giant spear had been placed near his neck. He then focused on the person wielding the object, only to look on in shock when what he saw was... an echidna. There was no mistaking it. All of the people circling him were echidnas, with one docked in exotic gold plated armor slowly approaching. Sonic assumed he was the leader. But... weren't all the echidnas gone except for Knuckles? It didn't make any sense – <em>none<em> of this did, for that matter!

"Hey, man! What gives?!", Sonic defiantly yelled. Having this lummux crash him down like a train was one thing, but actually trying to hurt him, that simply went too far!

"**SILENCE**, intruder! How_ dare_ you show yourself in the holy city of Echidnapolis!", the leader screamed.

"Echidna-wha? Listen, buddy, I have no idea what you're talking about! If you can just let me go-"

One of the echidna's comrades then decided to speak up. "Oh, you're not going anywhere! You just wait until the chief gets here! He's coming as we speak – he'll show you what for!"

Sonic grew puzzled. "A... chief? What does he do?"

The leader's snarl grew into a devious smirk and cracked his knuckles, which unnerved Sonic somewhat. "Oh... you'll soon find out. I wanna be here when that blue skin turns purple..." Sonic swallowed hard.

One of the comrades at the back then called out. "Oh, its the chief – he's here!"

All eyes were focused at the entrance, as a large shadow emerged from the gates. It wasn't long before what the shadow took the form of a short, but bulky echidna, dressed head to toe in precious artefacts and docked in a luxurious crown.

All of the echidnas, including the leader, instantly got on one knee; well, everyone except the one still holding Sonic on the ground. The large echidna then let out his hand.

"At ease men. That includes you, Nokouch."

And with that, the one known as Nokouch got up and rejoined his men, who were now in a somewhat relaxed position. They stood in rows of two, surrounding the actual leader's left and right views.

"Please, allow me to introduce myself; my name is Pachacamac, the leader of my luxurious clan. You have managed to disturb the sanctity of my precious city with your presence, so you may as well have the courtesy to answer what I have to ask. State your business here."

The hedgehog folded his arms. "So you're the leader, huh? Strange – you look a bit fatter than I thought you'd be. I mean, whatta you been eat-"

He was interrupted by the butt of a stick that had somehow found its way on Sonic's head, causing him to tumble and writhe on the ground in agony. Pachacamac then casually walked up to the young one and lightly stepped on his stomach.

"Such blasphemy would normally be rewarded with a spear to the brain. The only reason why you're still alive is that I'm not one to kill children; however, let that be a lesson for you, son - running your mouth will get you nowhere. Now, you still didn't answer me. _State your business here._"

Sonic unwillingly got up, a lump forming on his head as a result of that knock. This guy wouldn't appreciate a good joke even if it hit him on the head, would he?

"I... don't know how I got here. There was a loud flash of white, and... now I'm here. I don't know where I am... wait." If he was an echidna...? Maybe he could ask a few questions of his own. _Of course!_ Do you know a guy called Knuckles?"

Pachacamac's eyebrow slightly rose up. "Knuckles?"

"Yeah, Knuckles. Red guy, looks a lot like you, only shorter and... less bulky(for lack of a better word); he lives with me on Angel Island."

"The what?"

"Yeah, Angel Island! A floating island in the sky, protects the Master Emerald, Knuckles is a Guardian there, funny thing. It's not just any other island, either; it's got its own city, its own desert, its own carniv-"

The hedgehog was rewarded for his ramblings with a slap on the cheek, making him reel from both the shocking pain and the force. After lightly running through the affected area, he looked up to see Pachacamac seething at the boy. He could tell that this guy was quite easily angered – and that was quite something, considering he spent his time with the likes of Knuckles.

"So, after you have the nerve to disturb my city's peace, you 'enlighten' me with complete and utter gibberish to anger me further? 'Angel Island', eh? 'Guardian', really? 'Carnival', is there? Gah! I don't know why I'm wasting my valuable time with this, this_** trash**_! Guards! See to it that he dies!

"With pleasure!" Without being given time to speak out, the hedgehog's arms and legs were quickly grabbed by a soldier that was right behind him, and he was lifted into the air. He started to break out in a cold sweat when he saw that the faux leader had gotten a dagger out from a mantle from his clothing, and was starting to advance on him form.

"Wait! I'm telling you the truth! What I'm saying to you is real! Why won't you listen to me?!"

Another butt of a spear landed on Sonic's head, causing him immense pain and an nevitable lump to form.

'Damnit, I'm all out of options, now! If I don't do something, I'm a goner! But what should I do? What **can** I do?!'

"Father, stop!"

A small, feminine voice broke out in the crowd, causing the guards and the chief to face the door again, this time in confusion. What looked to be a young, cream coloured echidna rushed out of the doors. She looked to be a few years older than Sonic himself. "What's going on?"

It didn't take Sonic long to realise that this person was female. Sonic had never seen a female in his life – well, a sentient female.

"Tikal! I told you to stay at the house! Bah, no matter. I'll deal with you yet. This intruder has had the nerve to come into this city and insulted me and our soldiers with his rambling. He is going to die."

"What?! Father, no! You can't! He's just a child; he wouldn't do it on purpose!"

"I'm not about to exchange words yet again with a child who doesn't know how the world works, Tikal! Your grandmother has made you soft, see? You need to learn that actions cause consequences, as you're about to see right now..." He then motioned his hand to let the soldiers continue. Sonic looked at the girl with a mixture of fear and panic. She had to do something! Wait... that's it!

"Father! Wait!"

The crowd loudly groaned, and Pachacamac looked at his daughter in renewed anger. "_Tikal..._", he started in a hauntingly low voice, "you know better than to interrupt me twice..."

"Uh, father... surely you'd want _me_ to kill the intruder would you?"

Pachacamac, Sonic and the soldiers all looked at her in surprise for a few seconds. Pachacamac spoke up afterwards. "I... beg your pardon?"

Tikal's face then contorted to a vengeful frown and smirk, which most would find chilling for someone that looked no older than 13. "Yes, father. In fact, I've been thinking: I'm going to be queen of this tribe one day, and what better way to learn how to learn the ropes than to personally deal with the _trash_ that lays in front of me?" She looked at Sonic with a particularly loathing expression, causing him to shrink down considerably. But she felt so guilty... he didn't deserve all of this.

Pachacamac, on the other hand, was no less than utterly delighted. "Oh, Tikal! Do you have _any_ idea how proud you've made your father right now? It warms my heart to see you step up to your duties so quickly in such a manner! Here, take this spear. You're to report back to me in one hour so that I can see the body for myself."

Tikal continued smiling, despite cringing in her mind when she saw Sonic being thrown on the floor in a very painful matter. "Of course, father." Her face then turned emotionless, walking over to the him and grabbing him by the hand, before walking off. The poor boy was too shocked by this whole experience to even let out a shout of protest. "You, come with me."

Pachacamac then let out a happy sigh and gestured for his soldiers to follow him back inside the city gates. "Ah, that girl's going to make a fine queen if she keeps this up..."

* * *

><p>'Thiscan'tbehappeningthiscan'tbehappeningthiscan'tbehappening', was all Sonic could process in his mind, despite being externally silent. He got transported to the middle of nowhere for no reason, both Knuckles and Angel Island were missing, and now this girl was going to kill him! And for what?! How the hell was he gonna get home now?!<p>

"Hey. You alright?"

_All right_? _ALL RIGHT_?! This girl had just made a deal with her psycho dad to end his sweet, valuable short life, and she had the nerve to ask if he was all right?! What... was **wrong** with this person? Sonic was just about to turn and give her what for, only to be shocked by her now seemingly friendly expression.

"I apologize for giving you such a fright back there; My father is known for being extremely stubborn – nothing short of what I had suggested would have made him change his mind. Are you hungry?"

The hedgehog slowly shook his head, the few choice words he had for her dying on his tongue. "No... I'm not. Thank you, for helping me."

Tikal lightly smiled. "No problem. You're not from around here, are you? Nobody I know around here is around my age, after all."

"No, I'm not from here either. All I know is that I got here by touching a giant, green stone-"

"Green stone? You mean the Master Emerald?", Tikal let out, before holding her hand over her mouth, a self apology for speaking out of turn.

Sonic looked at her in a questioning matter. "Yeah... do you know about it?"

"Of course I do. My grandmother told me all about it. The Master Emerald is nearby here, along with the seven Chaos Emeralds."

_Chaos Emeralds? I thought they were all lost! And those guys don't seem to know what Angel Island is... could this be... the _

_past? Nah, couldn't be..._

"Chaos Emeralds?"

"Yes. You know of those, don't you?"

Sonic quickly nodded. "I do know, yes... but I've never seen them before..."

"Oh... I can show you, if you want."

"...Really? You think you can do that for me?"

Her smile never wavered. "Of course. Trust me when I say you won't regret it."

Sonic then let out a hard sigh. Perhaps it was that echdina attack that happened a short while ago that had uncharacteristically put him on edge, but now he didn't want to potentially run headlong into even more danger. He just wanted to go home. _Then again, the Emerald might give me a way to go back. It's pretty much my only bet, now. I'd never thought I'd say this in a million years, but..._ "Lead the way."

"Thanks. Oh, by the way; what's your name?"

"My name? ...Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. And yours?"

"Tikal."

"Nice to meet you then, Tikal."

And with that, a friendship was born.

* * *

><p>Sonic <em>hated <em>walking.

His constant running would attest to that. Sure, he could probably get by and by with walking for a short amount of time, but after a few minutes, it was simply too much. He wanted to just use his speed to get to the place in a snap, but the girl in front of him didn't know of it, and even if she did, Sonic wasn't sure if she could keep up with him like Knuckles could. So he persevered. Right now, the two were walking inside a thick jungle that was north from the Echidna city.

"So, Sonic. You say you're from a floating landmass called the Angel Island, correct?"

The blue hedgehog nodded. "Yeah, it's quite a place. Kinda shocked that you don't know where it is. You should go there some time."

Tikal turned back. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, one of these days..."

"We're almost near the altar, Sonic. What awaits you is simply such a beautiful sight to behold. You just have to see it for yourself..."

"Uh-huh. Anyway, Tikal... does anyone else know about where the Emeralds are?"

It was then that the girl's expression became forlorn. She always hated talking about this subject mostly because there was nobody she felt she could properly talk to about it except her long departed grandmother.

Sonic grew concerned. Was it something he said? "Are you OK?"

"Sonic... my father has been seeking the power of the Chaos Emeralds for many years, now. He's a very... violent man. He believes that the only way for our tribe to progress is by claiming power and destroying all opposition. It's completely against everything my grandmother has ever taught us. The only thing that is stopping him from achieving ultimate power is that he doesn't know where the Emeralds are; nobody in my tribe except for my grandmother knows where they are. She imparted her knowledge onto me before she-" A pause. "-_passed on_, you see."

"Wow. I'm... I'm sorry to hear that."

"I've tried to get him to stop going down this path of greed, but my pleas fall on deaf ears; many people's lives have been taken as a result. So when life hits me hard, I come down to the altar to meet a special friend."

Sonic's eyes widened slightly. "What _kind _of friend?"

"You'll find out."

A few minutes of silence later, Tikal's ears slightly perked up, a smile creeping around her face. "Well, he we are. The Emeralds are right in front of this blockage of vines. Do you think you're ready for this Sonic?"

Sonic's mouth curled into that trademark grin. "Ready? I was BORN ready! I got this!"

The girl lightly giggled while opening the vines and climbing off from the hole. Sonic followed suit, and the sight that awaited him caused him to open his mouth in awe.

What he saw was a large altar, with the Master Emerald at the top of the stairs, looking exactly as otherwordly as he remembered it being. But that wasn't all - he also saw what looked like 7 smaller, multicolored Emeralds that were kept in smaller altars, circling around the large gem. The hedgehog could sense a power never seen before. He also came across a more peculiar sight. He saw a bundle of creatures playing around the altar, enjoying themselves. They behaved no different to the creatures back at the Island, but these were... different, somehow.

They were small, probably around less than half of Sonic's height, and most of them were blue, with orbs of different colours appearing on their head, and wings on their backs.

"I see you've gained interest in the Chao."

Sonic looked at Tikal, his ears flatlined. "The what now?"

With a hint of impatience, Tikal continued. "The Chao, silly. My grandmother never knew how they were formed, but she did describe them as creatures who couldn't decide who they grew up as."

"Couldn't decided who they grew up as? Uh..." Sonic let out a sheepish smile. "I'm afraid you've lost me."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll explain." With a loud cough, she continued. "You see, Chao start out as the blue creatures you're seeing right now; well, after they hatch from their eggs, that is. In fact, the Chao you're seeing now are newly hatched; their orbs are a bright yellow, which signifies innocence. As they grow, they come in contact and play with a vast variety of

animals. When they become grown, the Chao either stay the way they are, or they change depending on the animals they touch. Look up."

Sonic did so, and immediately he came across what looked like a purple chao with dark stripes, with enlarged wings, soaring into the sky, laughing as it dd so.

"That, is a Flying Chao. And over there is a Running Chao. These ones are extremely fast."

This one, Sonic was both creeped out at and proud of. What he saw as a Chao that looked like it was built to his likeness, running at blinding speeds that would give even Knuckles a bad day.

"What fascinating creatures," Tikal added. "The only disadvantage they have is that they are extremely fragile. A large amount of the variations of Chao have no self-defense capabilities what so ever. However, he guards the creatures and the Emeralds from harm."

Sonic turned around sharply. "He? Who's he?"

Tikal simply turned towards the altar and bowed her head down. What was she doing. She just sat there, chanting to herself. Sonic assumed that whatever she was doing, she preferred to be left alone, so with that, he started walking towards the emeralds, only to eventually find himself at the bottom of the stairs.

He was only able to get that far before a strange feeling came across him.

It was like the feeling he got when he was near the Master Emerald, but this felt... _different_, somehow. Power was building not outside him, but from inside. The power was _painful_, begging to be released, while racking Sonic with split seconds of agonizing pain. The hedgehog grunted as the emeralds started to circle around him, filling him with electricity.

It was also at this moment that Tikal recovered her senses, sensing a disturbance. She, as well as the other Chao, witnessed with a shock what Sonic was doing.

"Sonic! What's happening to you?! SPEAK TO ME!" She yelled as she ran towards Sonic's direction; storms were starting to form.

As for the hedgehog himself, his quills appeared to spike up, and his black, void-like pupils suddenly turned a perfect green. His blue skin started to turn a bright white, before turning into a multitude of colours, finally turning yellow.

The now yellow hedgehog stood majestically, Tikal staring in shock, for a few seconds. After that, the emeralds dispersed from his body, finding their way back towards their respective altars. Sonic's skin turned from yellow to blue, and his quills drooped back down to normal, before falling on the ground, unconscious.

Tikal looked back at Sonic in a mix of confusion and concern; as far as she knew, nobody was able to absorb the Emeralds' powers at such a grand scale, much less someone that looked to be even younger than she was. But wait...

Her grandmother would always talk of beings who were able to absorb and use the Emeralds' power, for good or for bad, but... she never thought she would see one in her lifetime. Who... was he exactly? The echidna then picked up Sonic, her ears perking up a second time, as she sensed another presence. She turned around, and what she saw somewhat relieved her mind.

It was an organism that was made of what seemed to be water. It appeared to be a mute to its lack of a mouth. He turned to Tikal's direction in an expressionless matter.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here! I met this person a while ago; for whatever reason, he can utilise the power of the Emeralds somewhat. But... he's unconscious after using them! Please, help him!"

Without a word, the creature then quietly walked towards the two, and its extended its hand, only to grab Sonic's. A green glow emanated from the two's bodies, as Sonic's eyes started to open up, consciousness finally entering him once more.

"Wha... what happened? Who are you?", the hedgehog spoke out, still in a daze.

_Ah, hello there, young ones. What brings you in such a peaceful environment?_

Both the hedgehog and the echidna looked at the water being in shock and amazement, Tikal more in shock that after all this time, the creature could finally talk, and Sonic more in shock that the creature was a thing, period.

_Do not act so surprised, children. I could always communicate, primarily with Chao; Anyone with Chaos Energy can stimulate me to talk with them, as well as and others nearby._

"So that explains it...", Tikal summarised.

"Wait, hold up. Explain what?"

Tikal's eyebrow cocked up. "You didn't know what happened with you just a moment ago?"

Sonic looked puzzled, his ears drooping down. "Uh... no?"

_Ah... then it is simply not your time to know just yet. You will find out in your own time._

"Um... OK? I guess, or whatever."

_Now, on to different matters, what Tikal here was trying to tell you was that I serve as the Guardian of the Master Emerald, as well as the protector of the Chao that are ever so common here._

"Guardian, eh?" _So he's just like Knuckles..._

_Yes. Guardian. For you see, I was originally just a mere Chao myself." It seemed to chuckle to itself before continuing. "I may not look it, but let's just say that this form arised because of certain... mishaps. With this form, I am able to manipulate Chaos Energy, and keep it safe from intruders, as well as to use the Emeralds' power to keep the waters clean for all the Chao to use to their heart's content._

It was here that Tikal had made herself known. "Aww... In all our encounters together, you never quite gave me quite the sentimental impression."

The water creature simply chuckled. _Yes, that's just what happens when you lack a mouth to form words, isn't it?_

"I guess so..." The girl trailed off, before reminding herself of part of the reason why she came here. "Wait. This person is unable to go back home; he says he comes from a place called Angel Island - have you heard of it?"

The creature's eyes were contorted in what seemed to be a perplexed matter. _Angel Island? I can't say I've ever heard of it. How exactly did he find his way here?_

It was then that Sonic spoke up. "Well, I-I remember being on the Island at nightfall and somehow ending up here in a white flash. So I guess I'm stuck, heh."

The creature then started thinking for a few seconds, before ultimately coming up with a conclusion.

_Ah, here's an idea. I'll bring the Master Emerald to you. If what you way is true, then being subject to its power will most likely take you home. You think you're up to it?_

Sonic let out his hands in a weary gesture. "Hey, _anything_ that'll take me out of here and place me back home where I belong, I'm game. My brain's starting to shut down from not getting any sleep, anyway, so..."

Tikal looked at the creature with a curious look in her eyes. "Are you sure this'll work? I don't want him getting hurt any more than he already has. I... hope I'm not speaking out of tone."

_I say it is perfectly acceptable to be concerned; I'm not completely sure myself how this will go, but, better to try it than to not use it at all, I might add. _His tone was just so friendly, that the girl couldn't help to smile. So different from her father...

"Alright then, let's do it."

_I will have to bring the Master Emerald to you myself; A person that is able to inhibit Chaos Energy is able to react to the power of the Emeralds, for better or for worse, and I fear that you may not be completely experienced as of yet._

Sonic scratched his head with his quills. "Uh, if you say so..." 'I still have no idea what you're talking about...'

And with that, the creature held out its arms, the Emerald slowly becoming unhinged from the altar and slowly advancing towards the two. A few seconds passed, before the Emerald was eventually placed on the ground.

_Now, touch it._

Sonic then walked towards the Emerald, once again feeling the familiar sense of power emanating from it. For a second, he seemed to halt. What if this didn't work, somehow? He had to be sure.

"Are... are you sure?"

_Trust me, you'll be fine._

He didn't need to be told twice. The hedgehog then touched the surface of the Emerald with his hand, and for a few seconds more, he paused. Just as he was about to turn around and start talking to Tikal about moving accommodations, his vision, for the second time today, slowly turned white.

He looked ahead to see the creature, who's face seemed to once again be unresponsive. But its thoughts were as clear as sunshine.

_It appears that you're slowly being transported to your home. I wish you safe travels, hedgehog. Hopefully your journey will be quick... and painless. Mostly. _

"Wait, what?"

"Sonic." He then turned around to see Tikal, who was waving back to him with a friendly smile on her face. "I hope you come back here some day. Maybe I can visit your Angel Island, someday."

Sonic smiled back. "Maybe, Tikal. Maybe. I have to go now." His slowly disappearing vision meant that he had to sprint to get a clear picture of her at this point. "Goodbye for now."

Tikal curtly nodded. "Goodbye for now."

* * *

><p>And with that, he went through the familiar process of his vision becoming nothing but a pure void of white. The platform he was on disappeared completely, and after a few seconds, he once again found solid ground.<p>

His vision back to him, Sonic looked around, it was still twilight. He was still on the altar, with the Master Emerald, only now it was completely alone.

_He was back home._

The hedgehog let out a jump for joy, dashing towards the ground of the main green lands, kissing the ground that laid beneath him. Screw what he said before about wanting to leave this place – There's no place like home, indeed! He was just so glad to be back!

"Sonic?"

Sonic got up in a flash, looking back at the voice of someone he'd been wanting to hear all this time. Knuckles looked up at him, a confused expression on his face. "The hell are you doing?"

"Knuckles! Oh god, Knuckles! How long have I been gone?"

His confused look only seemed to intensify as his eyebrow cocked up. "What are you talking about? We spoke to each other a few minutes ago, remember?"

Wait, what? A few minutes ago? But Sonic could had sworn he was at... wherever the hell he was, for at least an hour! What the hell was Knuckles going on about?

"No, no listen! I touched the Emerald, and then I woke up, and it was daytime, and a bunch of guys that looked like you tried to kill me, and then this girl took me to this water gu-"

His mouth was then clamped by a spiked fist belonging to yours truly. Knuckles had a somewhat stern expression on his face as he ceased the hedgehog's rambling; he'd had enough of that crap for one day as it was.

"Listen. I don't know what the hell this all about, and, know what? I don't care to know. What I do care about though was how you brought your spiny blue butt up your alter and had the _**NERVE**_ to touch my Emerald without permission!"

Sonic gulped. _Yeah, shouldn't have brought that up to this guy, dunno what the_ hell_ I was thinking..._

"Well, you see... it was actually a pretty funny story, you should... uh... HEY LOOK! A THIEF IS TAKING THE EMERALD AS WE SPEAK!"

"_WHERE?!_" The echidna looked up, only to see the Emerald safe and sound. With a snarl, he turned to his blue adversary, only to see a cloud of smoke where he had once been.

"Ugh, I don't even... I'm going to bed..."

Lying down on the top of the altar, he saw that the Emerald was still glowing at an infrequnt pace.

Just what did that hedgehog get _up_ to, anyway?

* * *

><p><em>Oy, so much text in this chapter DX. Ah, well, third chapter completed! Thanks for reading, and here's hoping Chapter 4 pops up soon! <em>

_ShinyShiny9: Well, for the most part, they're going to be similar to humans; it's just that Sonic, Knuckles and, most likely Tails, are likely to be exceptions to the rule. For Knuckles, he's kind of a fast learner; the fact that, as far as he knows, he's the last echidna on the planet, has encouraged him that much more to start learning as quickly as possible. For Sonic, he's pretty much been forced to by Knuckles. And for Tails... yeah, that's pretty self explanatory. :P_


End file.
